South Elgin continues its U-46 supremacy
The South Elgin boys basketball program has morphed from new kid on the District U-46 block to area bully, and it only took three years.
The Storm improved to 3-0 against its district rivals this season by beating Elgin 58-50 in overtime in an Upstate Eight Conference game at Chesbrough Field House on Thursday.
South Elgin (15-6, 5-2) had already beaten U-46 sister schools Streamwood and Larkin, but besting Elgin for the first time in three tries on the Maroons' home floor held special meaning, the players said
"This was a big game," said South Elgin senior Jordan Dobler, who led the Storm with 16 points. "I used to always come here and watch my brothers player here (for Larkin) in the Elgin-Larkin rivalry. It's fun to actually do it myself. I had a good game and it feels good."
The Storm led 40-35 heading to the fourth quarter but managed only 2 points against Elgin's 2-3 matchup zone in the final period on 1-of-11 shooting.
"We picked up the intensity a little bit more," said Elgin senior Marcus Redburg, who led all scorers with 29 points. "We got more deflections of passes, and we started to box out more and get rebounds. That got us back in the game."
Elgin (9-13, 2-5) tied the game at 40 when senior guard Tom Roth split 2 free throws with 2:40 left in regulation. South Elgin regained the lead on a Sheldon Chaney jumper from the baseline seconds later, but Roth answered again with a short jumper with 2:10 left in the period.
It was a rare spurt of production for Roth, who was hounded all night by Storm senior point guard Alex Sanchez and held to 7 points on 2-of-12 shooting.
"You have to give Alex credit," Roth said. "He was denying me the ball. I couldn't get it after I gave it up. Me driving and dishing is a big part of our offense."
Said Sanchez: "I just looked him in the eyes, and no matter where he went I made sure I got there before he did."
South Elgin had a chance to win the game at the regulation buzzer, but a 3-point attempt by Sanchez from the volleyball line didn't fall. However, he swished a 3-pointer to open the overtime period, and Dobler gave South Elgin the lead for good when his 3-pointer with 1:53 to play made it 48-46.
After an Elgin miss at the other end, South Elgin senior Erik Stade was fouled and sank both free throws to establish a 4-point cushion. Once they had the lead, the Storm made 10-of-15 free throws to protect it, and Josh Smith grabbed 2 offensive rebounds and made 2 steals in the final two minutes to seal the win.
"We just had to grind it out," South Elgin coach Chaz Taft said after his team's fifth straight victory. "Trust me, it was nothing special. It was just a grind-it-out game, a rivalry game. We knew coming in it was going to be close."